Download Sample EML Files (Email Message)

Download free sample EML files. Based on the RFC 822 standard, EML is a plain text format used by Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Outlook. Use these files to test MIME parsing, attachment extraction (Base64), and header analysis. STANDARD Text, HTML & Attachments File Name Specs Size Action simple_text_email.eml Plain Text Plain text only. No HTML,…

Download free sample EML files. Based on the RFC 822 standard, EML is a plain text format used by Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Outlook. Use these files to test MIME parsing, attachment extraction (Base64), and header analysis.

STANDARD
Text, HTML & Attachments

File Name Specs Size Action
simple_text_email.eml
Plain Text		 Plain text only. No HTML, no attachments. The simplest form of email. 1 KB Download
html_newsletter.eml
HTML Content		 Rich HTML content (Tables, Colors). Content-Type is text/html. 5 KB Download
email_with_attachment.eml
Base64		 Contains a PDF attachment encoded in Base64 within the file boundaries. 150 KB Download

QA / ADVANCED
Encoding & MIME Structure

Test Case Description Size Action
Multipart MIME Complex Structure. Contains both a “Text” version AND an “HTML” version (alternative). Your client must choose the best one to display. 10 KB Download
Quoted-Printable Encoding test. Uses =E9 for é and soft line breaks (=). Vital for testing European language rendering. 2 KB Download
Header Injection Security. Contains suspicious headers (e.g. Reply-To different from From). Used to test anti-phishing UI. 2 KB Download

Technical Specs: EML

  • RFC 822/5322: The standard format. It starts with Headers (Subject: ..., From: ...), followed by an empty line, then the Body.
  • Attachments: EML files are text only. Binary attachments (images, PDFs) are converted to text using Base64 and inserted into the file body using boundaries.
  • MIME Type: message/rfc822.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between EML and MSG?
EML is an open-standard text file (readable by Notepad). MSG is a proprietary Microsoft binary format (OLE) used by Outlook. EML is easier to parse programmatically.
Why is the EML file size larger than the attachment?
Because attachments inside an EML are encoded in Base64. This encoding increases the file size by approximately 33% compared to the original binary file.

How to view EML raw source?

Since EML is just text, you can inspect it easily.

  • Notepad++ / VS Code: Open any .eml file here to see the headers, the boundaries, and the raw Base64 data blocks.
  • Mozilla Thunderbird: The best free desktop client to view EML files exactly as the recipient would see them.
  • Online Viewers: Be careful uploading sensitive EMLs to online converters; they might store your data.

Developer’s Corner: Parse Email

Don’t use Regex to parse emails! Use Python’s standard email library to handle MIME parts automatically.

# Python: Read EML Subject & Body
from email import message_from_filewith open(’email.eml’, ‘r’) as f:
msg = message_from_file(f)
print(f“Subject: {msg[‘subject’]}”)

if msg.is_multipart():
for part in msg.walk():
if part.get_content_type() == “text/plain”:
print(part.get_payload())

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